Being a stand-up comedian is probably one of the toughest jobs in the world. Spending days, weeks, months, and even sometimes years perfecting a single comedy routine is a demanding job in itself. Going on stage and moving the audience to laughs can often be even harder.

While every stand-up comedian has his or her own ways of ensuring a successful show, there are a few tips that you may want to try to help your show go even better.

Use Your Experiences As Inspiration for Comedy

You may be the “fiction” comedy lover who likes to make jokes out of completely made-up situations, people, and settings. But many comedians use their personal experiences as the basis for the storylines in their jokes. Of course, not every situation we go through in life is comedic (let alone worthy of producing laughs). But a little exaggeration and a few imaginative additions to our real-life stories can make almost any experience “funny.”

Are you a parent? Then maybe you could build a funny story out of all the foam-padded, childproof-your-house gates, furniture protectors, and floor mats. Do you work with animals? Maybe you have a real-life incident where you were nipped that would make the crowds double over in laughter if you turned it into a story about a maniacal cat that nearly bit your head off because it did not get its hair combed to its liking. Clearly, you get the idea: real life can feed your comedy. Read the rest of this entry »

Booking shows is tough. Even tougher is being sure to get all the details at a venue before you song play. Some venues will only give you one chance to play there and if you ruin that opportunity by not getting all the information before show time you really have no one to blame but yourself.
The most important issue is finding out if the venue is 21 and over. Some bars do allow underage people in for shows and some do not. Some places allow underage band members into the show, but they have to leave immediately following the group’s set. I have seen shows where the band has gotten completely set up and then had to leave because the bar owner found out that the group was underage. The band, the owner, and the fans were all extremely unhappy. This situation is easily avoided with proper communication.

Be sure to also check if the venue expects a certain amount of money from you. You will not want to play the show if you cannot cover the cost to song play with the admission. Read the rest of this entry »

What makes the difference between a dancer who has the audience going wild with enthusiasm over her show versus one who is barely able to hold their interest? Of course, there are many factors that can influence this, such as dance skill, but one that many dancers don’t think about is the one that comes within them: what their motive is for the performance and what they’re really trying to accomplish when they step out on stage.

Art is meant to disturb. Science is meant to reassure. – Georges Braque, Pensées Sur L’Art

What is your primary motive when you walk on stage to present an Oriental dance performance in front of an audience? Is it to deliver an artistic presentation, provide entertainment, or satisfy your own personal agenda?

Why Dancers Perform in Public

There is a difference between dancers who aspire to perform in public and those who don’t. Dancers who want to perform may do so because: Read the rest of this entry »